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Ordox Tabulax
The Ordox Tabulax (whose members, when referred to generally, are called "the Tabulax") is a Cetan order tasked with the mission of collecting, sorting, and organizing all known information in the universe. The Ordox Tabulax is sometimes referred to as the Information Cult. Objective The objective of the Ordox Tabulax is to gather and sort all of the information in the universe. This vast library of knowledge is known as the Xenonomicon. The Ordox Tabulax tracks the movements of stars, the dimensional coordinates of wormholes, the physiology of aliens, the climates of alien worlds, and everything else that can be conceived of within all of creation. They treat this task with a sort of religious fervor, and members of the Tabulax will spend their entire lives pouring over archives of ancient knowledge, holographic projections of systems and worlds, and any other source of information they can find. History The Ordox Tabulax makes its home on Ceti-Arkturus-152, commonly known as The Library. This planet is covered in dense clouds that stretch kilometers into the sky; thus, the library itself is a massive structure built upon spires that stand above the clouds. The library covers the entire planet, and is filled with scrolls, tomes, databases, archives, and anything else that can store information. The Ordox Tabulax was founded relatively early in the vigorous expansionist period of the Cetan Imperium. Once the Ceti encountered a plethora of intelligent species in the galaxy, they began to fully understand what could be truly out there, and, if they wanted to dominate it, they knew they would need to understand it. Thus, the Ordox Tabulax was formed. Information is power and control, and the Ceti wanted nothing more than that. They knew if they could amass the collective information of the entire universe, they would be one step closer to achieving godhood and joining their dieties, the Deux. However, in their studies, the members of the Ordox Tabulax learned that the Deux did not ascend into godhood, but that they actually fled the galaxy. The Tabulax formed a religion distinct from the standard Cetan religion; rather than worshipping the Triumvirate and the Deux, they worship knowledge itself, and what they called the Information Singularity--the point at which all possible information is known. They coveted their knowledge and hoarded it in their massive library, and their discovery about the Deux and their formation of a new religion were considered high heresies by the Cetan Imperium. This caused a great schism between the Ordox Tabulax and the rest of the Cetan Imperium. The Triumvirate declared them heretics and sent squadrons of Seraphix to exterminate all of the members. However, the Tabulax were able to defend themselves somehow. They had all given themselves cybernetic implants and organ transplants to prolong their lifespans, and they were all on psyrilium, heightening their psionic capabilities. Furthermore, the knowledge of things like The Void had given the Tabulax such increased psychic powers that they were able to easily quell the attack. The Triumvirate noted this and decided to let the Ordox Tabulax be; they were still gathering information, so their purpose was still being served, and godhood could still be attained. To this day, thousands of years later, the Tabulax have been left alone by the Cetan Imperium to accomplish their objective. The Ordox Tabulax has persisted for thousands of years, gathering information at an increasing rate in anticipation of reaching the Information Singularity, and ending their torture. The devolution of the Tabulax continued, however. They had to further augment their bodies to stave off death, as they don't believe in death. Once the mind dies, the information it contained dies with it, so the Tabulax simply don't believe in death. They have made themselves effectively immortal through cybernetic augmentation and organ transplants. Along with their increase in augmentation, their psyrilium use increased, as did their madness. Their heads are filled with such an inconceivably vast amount of information that they have essentially gone mad, with their only goal being to collect more information. In the modern era, the Ordox Tabulax is a mystical and fearsome order of mad warriors who will stop at nothing to protect their library. Their psionic capabilities are so advanced, on account of their excessive psyrilium use and knowledge of The Void, that they are basically unstoppable, barring a full-scale planetary invasion. However, they rarely leave The Library, and no one ever goes there, as it is incredibly dangerous to do so. The Tabulax continue to gather information, clawing madly at the chaos of the universe and trying to discern all that they can so they can reach the Information Singularity and finally end their torture. They wander the hall of The Library, pouring their ancient forms over tomes and archives in an attempt to learn more, and they communicate exclusively through telepathy, if they even communicate at all anymore--as there must be silence in The Library. Heirarchy The Ordox Tabulax is made up of various ranks of scribes, scholars, and data-collectors, all of which serve technical and religious roles within the order. Master Librarian The Master Librarian is the leader of the entire order, and therefore the sole ruler of The Library as well. The Master Librarian is an illusive and mysterious figure who is said to have memorized every single modicum of known knowledge that exists within the universe. An immortal figure, the Master Librarian is heavily augmented and kept alive through a variety of technological and psychic means. The Master Librarian is also the keeper of the Xenonomicon, the order's holy tome. Praenuntiatox The Praenuntiatox are monks of the order tasked with forseeing future events and occurences. They make use of their order's extensive knowledge of everything that is and everything that ever has been in order to make incredibly accurate predictions of things to come. Philologix A Philologix is a master scholar with a complete knowledge of one specific field, be it xenoarchaeology, xenolinguistics, or anything else. The Philologix are essentially walking libraries of near infinite knowledge about one broad subject. Literatox The Literatox are the senior knowledge interpreters of the order. They spend much of their time pouring over ancient databases and analyzing whatever knowledge is brought back by the Clericix. The Literatox are the main research force of the order, and they rarely interact with any other living being, with the rare exception of Literatox or Philologix of a similar discipline. Clericix The Clericix are the senior knowledge gatherers of the order. They venture to alien worlds and secure any information they can, often by force. For this reason, the Clericix must be deadly warriors as well as gifted scholars. They make use of their surgically-heightened and technologically-augmented psionic powers, as well as the advanced digital weaponry of the order in order to scour the galaxy for information. The Clericix are often the only members of the order that will ever leave The Library. Eruditox The Eruditox are the senior knowledge dispensers of the order. They are tasked with both teaching the Discipulex and acting as the technical surgeons in charge of overseeing cybernetic augmentations and organ transplants. Likewise, the Eruditox also tend to the Servitox, to ensure that no data loss is ever incurred. Discipulex A Discipulex is an apprentice of the order. They spend many years learning and can then decide to become either a Clericix, Literatox, or Eruditox. The Discipulex will spend years living in The Library's lower levels, known as the Informatorium, where they will be continually augmented and rigorously instructed until they are deemed ready to proceed within the order. Servitox The Servitox are the lowest caste within the order, as they are not actually considered members of the order at all. The Servitox are people who have been acquired (through legal channels), or more likely kidnapped by the order to serve as memory storage. The brains of the Servitox are vivisected and cybernetically augmented so they are quantumly linked to the brains of a member of the order, thus allowing the Tabulax extra storage space for knowledge. Each member of the Ordox Tabulax will have several designated Servitox, with high-ranking members having hundreds of thousands, if not millions or more, all of which act as storage for excess knowledge that their already augmented minds cannot hold. The Servitox are rendered immobile by the surgery and are stored within the vast technological catacombs that run beneath the surface of The Library. They cannot think on their own, and they retain no consciousness of their own. Instead, they act as an extension of the minds of the Tabulax. Beliefs Being a religious order, the Ordox Tabulax is defined by its beliefs. Information Singularity They hail the Information Singularity--the point at which all of the knowledge of the universe is known--as their god, and they worship it. They believe that once they reach the Information Singularity, their endless quest can terminate, and they can be freed from the torture of both their task, and physical existence. They believe that by learning everything that can possibly be learned, they will be able to interpret the base code of the universe, and thereby ascend to a higher state of existence. Xenonomicon Their holy tome, the Xenonomicon, is said to contain the collective knowledge of the entire order, and it is therefore the single most valuable object in existence. Their are thousands of rumors about it throughout the galaxy; some think its an physical book of endless length, some think its a computerized archive stored in the core of The Library, and some think it is the Ordox Tabulax itself, or, rather, the augmented brain of the Master Librarian, who has memorized all of the knowledge of the entire order. Category:Ceti